"My ex-boyfriends? They're all dead!"

Waiting in the long line at the tiny post office in historic Manassas, a dozen customers and I could overhear the exchange between a postal employee and an older woman. The postman was boxing up several gifts she wanted to ship, and they were chatting about her plans to travel to New York for Christmas. He jokingly asked her if she was going to there to visit an old boyfriend, and we all laughed when she loudly exclaimed that they're all dead.

The post office was built in 1931... Yes, that is "young" to all my European buddies, but seems remarkably old to a girl born in southern California, where a 20-year old building seems almost ancient. The tiny lobby was filled with friendly customers and these lovely old post office boxes. Each wall of boxes had a slightly different design, but I didn't want to get too camera happy since I was inside a federal building.

All in all, a nice wait to ship off the last of my gifts destined for far-flung friends.